Acknowledgements

Before I set out to write a novel, I was always astonished at how many people the authors saw fit to thank. Perhaps part of me imagined that authors wish to appear humble, by spreading the credit for their work as far and wide as possible.

Now as a new author, I know better. A novel is the child of one brain, but many hands. And if my list is shorter than most, then the burden carried by each name was all the heavier, and the thanks I owe them all the greater.

First, I must dedicate the work to Brandon Sanderson, who has never heard of me, and may never read it, but who made it possible by publishing a master class on the structure of fantasy writing, on the internet, gratis. It is he who took me from a dabbler who wrote good scenes to an author who could turn them into bricks, and build the edifice of a story. Gratitude is owed.

I must also thank my wives, Sara and Christine, whose support and enthusiasm have never faltered, from the day I hatched a crazy plan to retire from engineering and write, to the day the long-awaited project finally hit the shelves. I could not possibly list all their contributions without padding the final page count beyond all sense and reason. Thriving is a team sport.

Special thanks are due to my initial test reader, Nicole Foresman, who waded through the entire five-hundred-plus page first draft in the space of a single long weekend. Her understanding of the goals of the work, enthusiasm for its story, and laser-focused perception of its early-draft shortcomings were far in advance of the capabilities of most professional editors.

I am also grateful to my small team of beta readers, who gave their time and energy to a lengthy tome penned by an internet stranger, and to extensive debriefings afterwards. Without their additional perspectives, this story would stagger in the places that it now soars. F. Dan O’Neill, Skyler Hawley, Jonathan Baldie, Annie Yoder, Neil Sorenson, “Uncle Bob” Martin, Ryan Lackey, Candace Groenhke, Steph Hance, and Gabriel Cortez, thank you.

I would like to thank Patricia McIntosh-Mize, my editor, and fellow author Terry Maggert, who introduced me to her. Her suggestions have been thoughtful and wise, and her support, both emotional and logistical, unwavering. But she can have my ellipses when they pry them from my cold dead hands.

I would like to thank Thea Magerand, for her brilliant cover art and design, and for her assistance with the interior art as well. Thea, your patience with my endless requests for tiny revisions is much appreciated, almost as much as the amazing way you reached into my head and pulled Miranda, Marcus, and Leela out. It is a nervous enterprise to have a year of one’s heartfelt efforts judged by the work of another, but I was always in good hands with you.

I would like to thank Elise Ramelot and Gabriel Cortez, for being my family, providing more kindness, patience, understanding, and support than blood relatives ever could.

I would like to thank the many science fiction and fantasy writers whose work I devoured in my youth. You will find small tributes to them in the story if you seek carefully.

And lastly I’d like to thank you, the reader, if you made it this far. You spent your hard earned money, and your precious time, which you only get so much of in this life, taking a chance on an unknown author. I hope that your investment has been rewarded, and that you will revisit me for the next step in this journey.